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Monday, October 20, 2014

Li Yahong interviewed by CNN on fake Chinese restaurants

Associate Professor Li Yahong was interviewed by CNN on what legal redress restaurants have in these trademark dispute cases.

(CNN) -- Hong Kong restaurateur Yenn Wong got quite a surprise one morning earlier this month. The co-founder of popular Hong Kong restaurant Chachawan Isaan Thai and Bar, Wong woke up and logged onto her computer to find a friend had forwarded her multiple images of a second Chachawan restaurant in Shanghai. In addition, Chachawan's Facebook page was filled with enthusiastic inquiries asking if the shop had opened a new branch in Shanghai. Wong looked closely at the pictures online. The Shanghai Chachawan bore the hallmarks of her successful Hong Kong eatery. It had the same exterior look and feel as the Hong Kong shop. Even the menu, focusing on northeastern Thai -- or Isaan -- cuisine, looked the same. Opened earlier this month, the Shanghai restaurant had already earned scores of 5/5 stars from six of its eight reviewers on Dianping, China's crowd-sourced food forum. Given that she had no plans to expand her operations to Shanghai, the copycat Chachawan stunned Wong. Click here to read the full article.